Drilling, pro and con, make their point in Albany today

Jan. 25, 2010

Members of the the Landowner Coalitions from New York's Southern Tier, and its supporters, gather across the NYS Capital building to hold a rally in support of natural gas exploration in the Marcellus Shale, Monday, January 25 in Albany,NY. / STEVE JACOBS / Gannett

Written by

Albany Bureau

ALBANY - Rallies will be held today outside the state Capitol over the controversial gas drilling in the Southern Tier.

Landowners and business leaders will urge state lawmakers that natural gas exploration in the Marcellus Shale is safe, specifically the process of hydraulic fracturing, which releases gas locked in shale by injecting pressurized fluid into the formation to shatter the rock. The pro-drilling rally will take place at 10 a.m.

The groups, including the Landowner Coalitions from the Southern Tier, are urging that the process will “produce efficient, abundant and environmentally clean fuel, increase New York’s energy independence and bring thousands of jobs and billions of dollars to New York.”

An hour later, environmental and conservation groups will hold their own rally to protest the drilling, saying “it is arguably the most pressing threat to the health of the state's environment” to the region. They’ve argued that the process has poisoned wells and spilled toxic chemicals across landscapes.